"Pink" Stripes On The Needles and Kaffe Fassett

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//"In The Pink" Scarf Design. Here are the facts:

• Yarn: MC - Stitch Nation (Passionfruit), 100% Peruvian Wool, DK weight
• Color A - Briggs Little Soft Spun (Carnation), 2-ply 100% pure wool, DK weight (if you're not familiar with this yarn, it is a product of Canada, from one of their oldest woolen mills. I picked it up at TNNA one year.)
• Color B - Dark brown, 100% alpaca, DK weight
• Needles - #8 circulars
• Border: MC - 8 rows of garter stitch
• A - 6 rows of stockinette stitch
• MC- 6 rows of stockinette stitch
• B - 6 rows of stockinette stitch
• MC - 6 rows of stockinette stitch
• Etcetera, etcetera until scarf measures 59 inches
• End with MC, knitting last eight rows in garter stitch
• BO all stitches 

I did end up changing the color choices a little bit from what you see in the swatch. This change is however, reflected in the above directions. Instead of using a multi-color yarn for my first color change, I used the Briggs Little Carnation instead.

I have long been an admirer of Kaffe Fassett and recently acquired his book, "Welcome Home". I love how he uses color and the freedom with which he does so. He doesn't worry about dye lots, designing right on the needles. So I have been playing with colors and trying to put them together in a pleasing way and also trying to be a little less constricted in my design thoughts. I hope you like my choices. It is pretty exciting to do, I highly recommend it.

If interested, Creative Bug offers three Kaffe Fasset workshops: two quilt design classes and one pillow design class. His assistant and fellow designer, Brandon Mably, also teaches two classes one of which I am enrolled in "Magic Ball Color Play" which encourages the use of leftover yarn in your stash and learning to put colors together. 

Would you like some help knitting stripes? I know I would. Here are a few places to go:

• TECHknitting: She always has a lot of good information on any technical problems you might have in knitting. This post addresses jogless knitting of stripes in the round.
• Fluffandfuzzknitting: A good article on changing colors when knitting stripes.
• Cottonandcloud: How to knit single or odd numbered stripes without cutting the yarn.
• Millamia: Here is a great article on knitting single row stripes.
• The Knitter: Yet another great post from Jane Crowfoot, one of the UK's leading knitting experts.

I hope this inspires you all to try knitting with colors and stripes. Let me know of your efforts and/or tips!

xoxo Shannon

A Little Snow, A Little Knitting . . .

***It is beautiful where I live right now, with the sun shining on the iced trees, snow covered gardens, a sight to behold for sure. It is God's gift this morning even though it is in the single digits! 

***Update: It's starting to melt! This, outside my back door.

***My newest knitting gig from a previous post, a project I have been working out which is going to be the "Aya Scarf". Here are the facts:

• Yarn: Noro Aya
• Colorway: No. 9
• Fiber Content: 50% cotton, 35% silk, 15% wool
• Weight: DK 
• Needles: #6 straights
• Gauge: 6 sts per 1 inch,  7 rows per 1 inch
• Stitch Pattern: Welting Fantastic, consisting of garter stitch welts worked straight across with purling on the odd numbered rows. The chevron formation of the background makes the welts go up and down in a wave pattern which I really like.

It has been going well, and I am very pleased with the outcome so far. I did find that working with Noro yarn is a little different than previous yarns in that it is a little "grabby" probably due to its silk content, it doesn't work that well with bamboo needles, so I had to switch to metal and the pointier your tips the better! I love the color changes in this yarn and the way in which it does change which is beautifully and gracefully and also the texture it brings to the table, wonderful! I have always been enamored with Noro and the results it produces.

***Here is one of my favorite uses of Noro yarn in this POP blanket by Emily Wessel of Tincanknits.

• How about this Noro Taiyo Cardigan here.
• Or this Lizard Ridge afghan by Laura Aylor.
• And the Noro Scarf V from Brooklyn Tweed.

I have decided for now to shelve my previous design-in-the-works due to just not being able to get it to work. I need to bone up on my colorwork techniques and being able to figure out how to make the color changes come out looking right. I am a work-in-progress myself. Anyone out there relate?

I hope you are all staying warm and happy in this "snowmaggeden" we have been experiencing! Have a great weekend, until next time.

xoxo Shannon

New Projects

//Here is my latest project I have been toying with. Its' a new year, it's time to get busy with new designs! Hopefully you can tell this is a scarf. I am working on what patterns I will be using, whether it be a chevron, just straight garter stitching, etc. I love color, so I am trying to take a leap of faith, jump in and start working with it.

And then the yarns/colors I am looking at. These are all a worsted/bulky weight, 100% wool consisting of from left to right:  Berroco's Peruvia in the greens (#7125 and #7122) and blue (#6003), Cascade Yarns Pastaza in the colorway "Poppy", and Plymouth Yarn's Galway in a cream (#1).

And speaking of other new projects ....

//I will be traveling to Tuscany, Italy in May. I am so excited to say the least! This will be my first trip to Europe, and I just had to share the news with you. I have already researched yarn shops in Florence (which is where I will be flying into and staying) and plan on visiting those and bringing back some souvenirs! I am going with a friend, we are planning on taking day trips into the Tuscan countryside to hopefully see scenes like the one above. If anyone out there has any tips/yarn shops to visit, please let me know.

Happy New Year everyone, make it a good one!

xoxo Shannon

On The Twelfth Day of Christmas . . .

//The Lindisfarne Shawl by Angelea McGarrah. This shawl gets its unusual name and inspiration from the Lindisfarne Priory's columns and their zigzag design (a Christian centre located in northeast England). I love the simplicity of this shawl but the pop of red color adds a wonderful zing to the overall design.

This was knit up in a sock yarn, fingering weight,  4 ply with a gauge of 28 stitches and 38 rows over 4 inches; size 5 needles and using a yardage of 375 to 425 yards.

I don't usually wear shawls but would definitely want to knit this up and wear. 

This is the last of my 12 Days of Ravelry Christmas. I hope you have enjoyed all of the offerings and are having a happy holiday season so far! 

xoxo Shannon

More Knitting Updates

Happy Monday everyone! Well I have finished the Oat cowl and it is a beauty! So easy to make and quick, just what you want in a knitting project, right? Check it out:

I have cast on for another of the Tin Can Knit projects I told you about recently, the Wheat scarf (see below). I have barely started, cast on and knit about three inches worth, but I think it will be every bit as easy and quick as the last project. I am knitting it up in Alpaca With a Twist's Highlander which is 45% baby alpaca, 45% merino wool, 8% microfiber and 2% viscose in a worsted weight, 3-ply. It is a very 

soft heathery yarn in the colorway Hawthorne Pink, #3014.

I also realized I have never shown you my very first knitted design, the "Sunflower Wrap" knit out of a handpainted 100% superwash merino, worsted 4-ply by Yarn Daze in the colorway Sunflower. The main pattern is a diagonal weave with a garter stitch edging. I was pretty happy with it being my first design and it wasn't too hard to execute. It's not something I want to publish, I want to keep pushing myself to do better things! Below, you will also see a great little book I use to keep my design notes, swatches, etc. in called "Knit Notes" by Nadine Curtis of Be Sweet yarns, you must check out her website to see all of her great yarns as well. It is great for keeping everything organized as it relates to knitwear design.

Hence, the finished product:

xoxo Shannon

W.I.P.S and My Favorite Knitting Podcasts

I have a few w.i.p.s going at the moment, namely one I have been working on for some time now and which I seem to drag my feet on getting done. It is my first foray into the sweater world, well actually it is a jacket by Debbie Bliss from her "Design It, Knit It" book, the Garter Stitch Coat. I am near the finish line with the last armhole to be shaped, a collar to be knit and the sleeves to be done and the whole thing made up. It is so easy to get bogged down with thoughts of "am I ever going to get this done!" But carry on I will and will show you the finished project providing it all goes together well. Wish me luck!

And as promised, my favorite knitting podcasts in alphabetical order that I listen to regularly and if you have any to suggest, please do! 

First up, a very witty podcast full of great knitting content and her adventures in the US and the UK, Cast-On by Brenda Dayne.

Second, the extremely funny and entertaining Electric Sheep telling the tales of the infamous sheep and the trouble he gets into, as well as book reviews, pattern talk, knitting and wips.

Third, a great knitting/crafty podcast called iMake by the lovely Martine from Guernsey Island in the English Channel with her lovely British accent who tells of her latest creative exploits.

Next up, YarnGasm, which is a video podcast that is cleverly done to show a lot of wips, yarn she is using and just general good yarny info. 

And lastly, but certainly not least is Ready-Set-Knit done by the Webs from yarn.com. This is always a very informative and inspiring listen to include interviews with lots of top people in the knitting world and an offering of their close-out yarns as well.

Emerald Green - The Color of the Year as Seen in the Knitting World

I wanted to show you some examples of this beautiful color /www.fashiongonerogue.com/hailey-clauson-zara-trf-fall-2011-campaign.

How about this yarn.
www.fabulousyarn.com/artyarns

And this....www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/miss-bb

Laura Zukaite designed this in the latest Vogue Knitting Early Fall issue. www.vogueknitting.com/magazine/early_fall_2013_fashion_preview.aspx

Another Ravelry design by Shannon Squire www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/big-green-cowl

Go get your green on! See you soon.